Keith Urban already has plenty of awards and accolades, including four Grammy Awards, multiple CMA and ACM trophies, and an induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. But in 2025, the 56-year-old will receive another honor: a star on the Holywood Walk of Fame.
“Hopefully (I’m) worthy of it,” Urban tells American Songwriter. “It’s a huge honor. My wife has one as well, so it’s kind of amazing to be in that long, long tradition of all kinds of people that have been honored that way … [I’m] very, very grateful.”
The New Zealand native is, of course, no stranger to Los Angeles, both with his own career and because of being married to movie star Nicole Kidman. As one of the most prominent singer-songwriters in Nashville, to be acknowledged on the West Coast is significant to him.
“I spent a lot of time [in Los Angeles] doing American Idol and other things,” Urban reflects. “That feels like a huge honor for all the other creative things that I’ve gotten to be a part of over there, in addition to writing songs and playing music.”
Urban is only a couple of weeks away from releasing his latest HIGH album out on September 20.
“It has so many different interpretations to people, but it’s a place of utopia,” Urban says, explaining the title. “It’s a place to try and get to. We all agree on that. We just may have different ways of getting there, but it’s definitely the destination.”
The irony of Urban, sober since 2006, releasing an album called HIGH is not lost on him.
“I loved the uncomfortable humor of it, too,” Urban says with a laugh. “Have you heard Keith Urban’s ‘HIGH‘? It’s just such a perfect phrase. I like all the playfulness of it.”
Urban currently has a Top 20 single with “Messed Up As Me” from the record. He’s also released “Straight Line,” his “Go Home W U” duet with Lainey Wilson, and “Heart Like A Hometown” from the record.
“When I was a kid, our family moved around a lot,” Urban says of “Heart Like A Hometown.” “By the 5th grade, I’d been in four schools and lived in nine different houses. So, a ‘hometown’ felt more about my family, and a place inside of me, somewhere I could find my center.
“It’s a theme that’s always spoken to me. Songs like Don Williams’ ‘If Hollywood Don’t Need You’ and Glen Campbell’s ‘Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in LA)’ and a song I recorded on my Fuse album, ‘Come Back To Me,'” he continues. “Those songs and this one all share a similar feeling, a kind of grounded safety, familiarity and a place where I can always find me.”
Other country artists who have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and more.
Urban isn’t the only country artist who will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025. George Strait will also be honored, joining other musical acts next year, including Green Day, Depeche Mode, American Idol‘s Fantasia Barrino, the B-52s, the Isley Brothers, Busta Rhymes and Prince.
See a track list for HIGH below. Urban will kick off his 10-show HIGH residency in Las Vegas on October 4. Pre-order of his new HIGH album, out on September 20, is available here. Find all of Urban’s music and upcoming shows at KeithUrban.com.
HIGH Track List:
1. “BLUE SKY”
2. STRAIGHT LINE
3. MESSED UP AS ME
4. WILDSIDE
5. GO HOME W U (WITH LAINEY WILSON)
6. CHUCK TAYLORS
7. DAYTONA
8. LOVE IS HARD
9. HEART LIKE A HOMETOWN
10. LAUGHIN’ ALL THE WAY TO THE DRANK
11. DODGE IN A SILVERADO
12. BREAK THE CHAIN
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the CMA